After yesterdays temper tantrum by the Senate Democrats, I got to thinking about the run up to the Iraq war and all that was said. Soon after the war began, the Democrats began bitching and moaning that they were mislead by that damn Bush McChimpHitlerBurton. There were several bloggers who put together a montage of Democratic quotes from 1998 and on showing that the evil genius McChimpHitlerBurton must have mislead them before he was even elected president. The same Democrats who today whine about the war, supported giving President Clinton the authority to attack Iraq because of the threat of WMD’s. If the WMD’s were a threat in 1998, they were still a threat in 2002, even more so due to the passage of time.

I did a quick search today and found several of the blog posts from a few years ago. The best was put together by John Hawkins over at Right Wing News. Here are just a few of the highlights:

“[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” — From a letter signed by Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Milulski, Tom Daschle, & John Kerry among others on October 9, 1998

“This December will mark three years since United Nations inspectors last visited Iraq. There is no doubt that since that time, Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to refine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer- range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies.” — From a December 6, 2001 letter signed by Bob Graham, Joe Lieberman, Harold Ford, & Tom Lantos among others

“Saddam’s goal … is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed.” — Madeline Albright, 1998

“There’s no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat… Yes, he has chemical and biological weapons. He’s had those for a long time. But the United States right now is on a very much different defensive posture than we were before September 11th of 2001… He is, as far as we know, actively pursuing nuclear capabilities, though he doesn’t have nuclear warheads yet. If he were to acquire nuclear weapons, I think our friends in the region would face greatly increased risks as would we.” — Wesley Clark on September 26, 2002

“The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow.” — Bill Clinton in 1998

“As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.” – Nancy Pelosi, December 16, 1998

The list goes on and on. By the way…in 1998, when Clinton said, “If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow”, does anyone remember what exactly he did to ensure Saddam was NOT emboldened?

Look, there were obvious mistakes in our pre-war intelligence. But it was not just the U.S., EVERY major intelligence outfit in the world was saying the same things. Remember, the reason the UN did not go along was because France, Russia and Germany threatened to veto the resolution…I wonder why that was? Hmm…maybe because those same countries were getting massive kickbacks and lucrative oil deals from Saddam and the Oil For Food program. No one disputed Saddam had WMD’s. The only real argument at the time was to give him more time to disarm. People who voted against the war, did so because they felt we should allow the inspectors more time. Again, the issue of the existence of WMD’s was never in doubt.

The essence of what the Democrats are saying and the reason for their little stunt yesterday is that Bush lied to them and the American people about why we needed to take out Saddam. Apparently even Democrats on the top secrete Intelligence Committee claim they were mislead.

IF this is true, follow along with me as I show you all that Bush had to go through…..

Now, you tell me, how is that possible? That Karl Rove is BRILLIANT! Brilliant I tell you!!!!!

I do not know what happened to the WMD’s. I believe they existed and that the Iraqi’s either destroyed them before the invasion or trucked them to Syria before the invasion. I vote for Syria. But who knows. You have to make decisions like going to war on less than perfect information. But one thing you can say about this war is that the amount of agreement between the countries of the world concerning Saddam was staggering. No wonder the CIA told Bush it was a slam dunk. EVERYONE knew he still had WMD’s. If he didn’t, then why didn’t he say so and comply with the inspection process? Then sanctions would have been lifted and there would not have been an invasion.

I just wish the MSM would grow a pair and take the 5 seconds it took me to find the quotes by Democrats supporting the use of force as far back as 1998. Then to use those quotes over and over and over again to hammer the Dems. But it will never happen.

Let me clue you in on a little secrete….come here…closer…let me whisper it in your ear…..the Main Stream Media is biased against Republicans and against Bush in particular! I know… you are shocked!

I had no idea.
/sarcasm